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Sheriff: Former MCSO deputy found dead in Phoenix home

The former Maricopa County sheriff's deputy who has engaged in a series of standoffs with law enforcement in the last week again drew a response from sheriff's deputies after he refused to answer the door to his home on Thursday afternoon.

The former Maricopa County sheriff's deputy who has engaged in a series of standoffs with law enforcement in the last week was found dead from an apparent suicide when deputies went to his home to serve an arrest warrant Thursday afternoon, according to Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Arpaio said Ramon "Charley" Armendariz failed to show up to retrieve his electronic monitoring device on Wednesday, prompting deputies to come to his home Thursday to serve an arrest warrant.

Arpaio called the situation "very unfortunate," and said a death investigation is underway.

Armendariz had a rather clean record, the sheriff said, but Arpaio cited the devastating effects of drug use.

"There seemed to be a lot if things going against him," he said.

Phoenix police officers first responded to the residence late in the evening on April 30, where they found Armendariz to be extremely agitated.

Officers reported that Armendariz was "clenching his jaw, wildly gesturing with his hands, pacing back and forth, and alternating from speaking steadily in a normal conversational tone to raising his voice and speaking rapidly," according to court documents.

Armendariz resigned from the Sheriff's Office on Friday.

Sheriff's deputies were conducting surveillance on the house Sunday when they witnessed three male roommates leave the home and speed off, according to Sheriff's Office spokesman Joaquin Enriquez. The deputies tailed the roommates and noticed one was on his cell phone. Investigators later determined the man was calling 911.

The roommate reportedly told dispatch that Armendariz had been acting strange and racking his shotgun.